Musings from a writer: Calvin Trillin on life, work, politics, and food

March 25, 2008 -- Calvin Trillin, the versatile veteran writer, journalist and humorist, will appear at Washington University at 4 p.m. April 3, in Steinberg Auditorium as part of the Assembly Series. His talk is the keynote address for the upcoming symposium, "Consuming News: Newspapers & Print Culture in Early Modern Europe (1500 - 1800)," sponsored by the German department in Arts & Sciences and Delta Phi Alpha, the German student honorary.

Trillin has been writing for more than four decades, beginning in the 1960s for Time magazine. Since then, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation and in more than 20 books ranging from fiction to nonfiction to essays to comic verse.

His long association with The Nation began with a column called "Variations," moved on to "Uncivil Liberties," and continues today with his weekly "Deadline Poet" column, featuring current events in rhythm.

His first book, "An Education in Georgia: Charlayne Hunter, Hamilton Holmes, and the Intergration of the University of Georgia," about the racial integration of the University of Georgia, was published in 1964.

Since then, Trillin's books have covered a range of subjects, among them his life and family ("Messages from my Father," "About Alice," "Travels with Alice"); the culinary arts ("Third Helpings", "American Fried: Adventures of a Happy Eater"); and political satire ("Uncivil Liberties," "Obliviously on He Sails: The Bush Administration," "A Heckuva Job"). His three novels, also satirical, are "Runestruck," "Floater" and "Tepper Isn't Going Out."

Trillin wrote for the Yale Daily News before receiving a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1957. He also served in the U.S. Army.

For more information on this program, visit the Web page at assemblyseries.wustl.edu or call 314-935-4620.